Riau Police Impoverish Two Elephant Ivory Trade Suspects Through Money Laundering Charges

The Riau Regional Police are impoverishing suspects in a Sumatran elephant ivory trade case through the application of money laundering articles. In this case, the Riau Police have named two individuals as suspects.

The Director of the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Riau Police, Senior Commissioner Ade Kuncoro Wahyu, stated that this case is an extension of the disclosure of a wildlife trafficking case, which previously resulted in 17 suspects being named. From this development, police found indications of suspected money laundering.

“From the results of the further investigation, investigators found sufficient preliminary evidence of money laundering offences committed by suspects FA and FS,” said Senior Commissioner Ade Kuncoro during a press conference at the Riau Police headquarters on Thursday (11/6/2026).

Ade Kuncoro explained that both suspects disguised assets obtained from wildlife trafficking crimes. Based on the investigation, it was revealed that suspect FA had been involved in elephant ivory hunting and trading activities since 2014 until his eventual capture in 2026.

“This illegal activity was driven through a wildlife trade network controlled by suspect FS,” he added.

Analysis of financial transactions showed a flow of funds closely linked to the trade in elephant ivory and other protected wildlife. The flow of funds reached billions of rupiah.

“Investigators discovered transactions amounting to Rp 1,872,000,000 through 34 transactions received by FA from HY,” he said.

Ade Kuncoro mentioned that these funds originated from the proceeds of elephant ivory sales dispatched by FS, AC, and AR.

“Suspect FA is a recidivist who has been involved in similar cases several times, most recently in 2019,” he said.

Within this elephant poaching network, FA was tasked with supplying logistics and providing capital to hunters in the field. He was previously apprehended in the Kampar region.

“Overall, two main suspects have been named in this money laundering case, namely FA, a 62-year-old man, and FS, a 43-year-old man from Surabaya,” he clarified.

Based on the investigation’s findings, it is known that from 2024 to 2026, there were at least nine poaching incidents involving protected Sumatran elephants. Suspect FA acted as the main financier, providing funds to hunters, both in cash and via bank transfers.

“FA sold the poached ivory to HY, who was based in Padang, West Sumatra, and it was sent using land transportation services,” he said.

From HY, the ivory was forwarded to suspect AR, who was part of a wildlife trafficking network established by FS in Surabaya. In this syndicate, FS served as the main controller of the wildlife trade, encompassing elephant ivory and pangolin scales on an international scale.

“In his operations, FS was assisted by AC and AR, who have already been processed in the principal case. AC was tasked with marketing the ivory to buyers and then handing over all sales proceeds to FS,” he explained.

From tracing the assets involved in this money laundering, investigators successfully seized a number of items strongly suspected to be derived from the profits of these criminal acts. The seized evidence includes cash amounting to Rp 650,000,000, one excavator unit, one Mitsubishi Triton vehicle, and one Suzuki Splash vehicle.

“The four-wheeled vehicles were seized from suspect FS, while the Rp 650 million in cash and the heavy equipment were seized from suspect FA,” he stated.

In addition to physical assets, investigators also seized documents including a bundle of BCA bank account statements in FA’s name, a bundle of BCA bank account statements in HY’s name, a bundle of BCA bank account statements in FS’s name, a fiduciary guarantee bundle for the Mitsubishi Triton, a bundle of agreement specifications for PT ZIHI, and an invoice sheet as proof of ownership.

For their actions, the suspects are charged under Article 607, paragraph (1), letter a of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code on Money Laundering Offences. This article stipulates that any person who places, transfers, diverts, spends, pays, grants, entrusts, takes abroad, changes the form of, exchanges for currency or securities, or commits other acts upon assets known or reasonably suspected to be the proceeds of crime with the aim of concealing or disguising their origin, shall be punished with a maximum imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum fine of category VII.